Does My Rural Hospital Need a Mobile-Friendly Site?

August 06, 2015 |
By
Brian Davis

Take a look around your hospital sometime and you will quickly see how
many people are using smartphones and tablets to access the Internet,
connect socially, and learn more about the world around them. It only
makes sense that consumers are accessing your rural hospital website from
their mobile devices too. In fact, according to Search Engine Land, 79%
of mobile phone owners use those devices for local searches—searching
for businesses (like your rural hospital) in the community around them.
That is why it is vital that your website be mobile responsive.

According to Search Engine Watch, 70% of searches on a mobile-friendly
website result in an action being taken within one hour. If the site is
not mobile-friendly, that drops to 40%.

Your First Impression Is Critical

While you want your hospital’s website to appeal to all of your patients,
it is especially important to impress those who haven't yet experienced
your excellent care and service. Although your rural hospital may mainly
serve local patients, tourists and travelers will often search for healthcare
services. On average, one out of every five patients will schedule their
healthcare appointment online. A modern, attractive, and easy-to-navigate
mobile website is the best way to make a favorable first impression, and
show those patients that your hospital is one they can trust.

Your Website Will Reflect on Your Organization

In May 2015, Google announced that the total number of mobile searches
exceeded the number of desktop searches for the first time. Even if your
hospital’s website looks fantastic on a computer, mobile devices
can be a different story. When consumers try to visit your hospital’s
website from a mobile phone and find that the site does not fit the screen,
is hard to navigate, or does not meet their needs, they immediately develop
negative feelings. This reflects poorly on your hospital and may make
the consumer more likely to choose another facility. After all, if your
organization has a low-tech website, the consumer is likely to think this
is how your hospital runs as a whole.

Mobile-friendly design is about more than aesthetics—while it is
important to have a website that looks good, a mobile responsive website
will be more likely to rank higher in search results from Google and other
search engines. As more and more online traffic comes from mobile devices,
it will only become more important to have a website that looks good and
performs well on mobile devices. Making mobile responsiveness a priority
today will save you time and money in the future.

Developing a truly responsive mobile website requires skill and technology.
This is not something you have to do alone. Reach out to Scorpion Healthcare
and allow us to bring your website into the “mobile moment,”
connecting your services to today’s tech-savvy healthcare consumers.